Body Heat
by Cyberweasel89
Summary: Lisbeth was still trying to bounce back after falling for a certain swordsman in black. She didn't expect to have a fateful encounter with a mysterious player with a tank build. He's strong, kind, handsome, a little awkward, but... why does he seem to be hiding something?


August 20th, 2024

Lavos Caverns, 69th Floor of Aincrad

 **-o-**

Materials for making metal weapons, shields, and armors could be found one of four ways in Sword Art Online.

Monster drops were usually the source for players not looking for them and just grinding. For players lucky enough to find one, treasure chests may contain forging materials as well. NPC vendors sold materials for crafting, but most players just ignored the ones relating to forging.

Forging was split into five Skills: Slash Weapon Forging, Thrust Weapon Forging, Blunt Weapon Forging, Light Metal Armor Forging, and Heavy Metal Armor Forging. Due to this, being a blacksmith took up more Skill Slots than any other vendor profession a player could choose. By contrast, a tailor needed only Tailoring, a chef only needed Cooking, and building only needed Carpentry and Lumber. Being a general item vendor had no clear Skills needed, though Tool Appraisal and Equipment Appraisal were advisable to avoid getting swindled by players hocking their stuff.

Raw ores could be found in those three ways, but another Skill was needed for forging such ores; Metal Refining. Most ores were pretty useless to players who weren't bkacksmiths or don't know one, so they usually sold them to NPC vendors or player vendors. As a result, the final collection method wasn't really bothered with except for players desperate for some extra change or blacksmiths themselves.

Collection points were environmental objects that gave a player a number of crafting items when struck. They usually glowed so players could better notice them. Some gave more than one kind of item but others only gave one kind. They were usually related to the environment they were in, so wood for example could be gathered from collection points in forests. Veins of ore gave raw materials for metal forging.

Collection point locations could at times be crowded with players all trying to mine the same materials. Most collection points also had a gathering limit for how much could be collected from them in a certain amount of time. This was usually a limit of five or six collections a day from one collection point, so competition between players for collection points could occur.

Since the Front Line was at the 70th Floor, the 69th Floor was the new hot spot of Sword Art Online. Lower level players were still on lower floors, but the best materials and mob were here until the 70th Floor was cleared. Most players never went to the most recently cleared floor while it was still considered the Front Lines.

As it turned out, the 69th Floor was a wasteland of volcanoes, lava rivers, and magma caverns. For ore veins, it was a mineralogical treasure trove. Kayaba Akihiko clearly did his research on how rich in minerals volcanic rocks could be because it had a lot of great metals in collection points. The 69th Floor was also about the only place in the game you could find obsidian and a few fantasy metals like hellstone.

As the best player blacksmith in Sword Art Online, Lisbeth sometimes had to leave her shop's NPC assistant to tend the store while she collected materials herself. Otherwise she had to rely on using her profits to buy materials from NPC merchants or from other players. Metal prices were getting pretty high, at that. Normally Lisbeth tried not to gather materials on floors that had too many players because she hardly needed the competition for gathering limits, but... well, she kind of had a reason to push it.

Last month she made her best sword ever, the Dark Repulser, for a player named Kirito. Making it involved a grand adventure that made her realize that even though this was a world of ones and zeroes, there were still things here that were real. The warmth of a person's hand, the warmth of their heart, their continued life. She'd fallen in love with a swordsman in black that day but someone else had long claimed him. Lisbeth had no intention of stealing him from her best friend but she'd take being his personal blacksmith. The fact that she was still getting over it and was worried she'd never find someone were things she'd just have to hide.

Unfortunately, being Kirito's personal blacksmith had its challenges. She's already Enhanced both his Dark Repulser and Elucidator to +40. Why he needed both was their little secret, hee hee! She was also repairing his equipment after each big field excursion. Right now, Kirito and Asuna were out on some big raid against a red guild and Lisbeth knew Kirito would need his swords repaired when he came back. With metal prices skyrocketing she had to take gathering materials into her own hands to keep up.

The 69th Floor may have been the most recent floor Cleared but not everyone liked venturing far from the towns to grind. While the towns of the 69th Floor were a bit steamy and even had natural hot springs, the rest of the 69th Floor was nothing but smelly, hot lava and magma. Brimstone didn't exactly smell like roses. While the game mechanics of Sword Art Online meant you couldn't get heatstroke or fall prey to the convection effects of lava, it was still uncomfortably steamy in most of the 69th Floor. Lisbeth hadn't seen another player in quite a while but she kind of wished she had waited until Asuna or Kirito were available to accompany her. As the most recent floor Cleared, the enemies were pretty tough and several of the collection points were right in their spawn zones. Nothing her mace couldn't handle of course, but she could easily fall prey to being attacked if she focused too hard while collecting from a mineral deposit.

The primary enemies of the 69th Floor seemed to be fiery golems called Firestones and heat-thriving mammals called Molemen. Some fish-like monsters also seemed to live in the lava and liked to pop out to spit molten balls of magma at passing players. Luckily this cavern network Lisbeth stumbled upon didn't have pools large enough for the lava fish to spawn but it seemed downright hotter in the cave, like a convection oven.

Lisbeth wiped her brow after another pound on the glowing vein on the wall with her hammer. She'd already collected a lot of iron, sulfur, obsidian, hellstone, and lots of other rare and valuable metals but... well, the day was young. Her NPC store-tender Hanna Heinemann could handle any sales while she was gone. With a swipe of her hand, Lisbeth opened her menu and searched through her inventory for the flasks of water she packed. Selecting one, it digitized into her hand and she took a swig. Sighing, she pulled at the chest plate of her light armor as if trying to air herself out.

Hmmmm... It was pretty empty around here... This cave was hard to find. Surely even if someone did stumble upon her, they would understand. Pulling up her equipment menu, Lisbeth unequiped the waitress uniform-like dress she usually wore around her shop, standing in just her underwear, boots, and armor. She imagined it looked a bit lewd, but... to hell with lewdness. She was burning up over here!

Turning back to the collection point, she struck it one more time with her hammer. Another piece of ore was added to her inventory, but the blacksmith pouted when she noticed the collection point stopped glowing. Only four strikes and it was drained? Talk about a dinky collection point! Grumbling to herself, Lisbeth sheathed her hammer and turned to move onto the next collection point.

Grooooowllll!

The blacksmith whipped around to see three molemen spawn. Dammit... she should've figured. It was a pretty big opening in this part of the cavern, perfect for some mob spawns. Whipping out her One-Handed War Hammer, the Zoringen Hammer, she took a battle stance. One of the molemen loosed a howl and charged for her and Lisbeth was right about to hit it with a Sword Skill when-

"Hiya!"

She nearly fell over, stopping her Sword Skill before she hit the large figure that had suddenly got in her way. Her dark pink eyes whipped up to see a male player in... golden heavy armor? Ugh, how incredibly gaudy... You came out of absolute nowhere and took the moleman's blow for her with a shield that almost looked like a round mirror, it was so reflective. Her eyes scanned your broad-shouldered form, likely looking larger than it was due to your heavy armor, to see your left hand held a saber with an entirely black blade. You used One-Handed Curved Swords? That was an odd choice. Most players stuck to One-Handed Straight Swords when they wanted a one-handed blade. Even odder to choose to wield one with a shield. Shields alone were rare in this game. Most players didn't bother with them for one reason or another. Rapier wielders and players with Agility builds often found shields threw them off balance, while DPS players with Strength builds preferred Two-Handed weapons.

"Hey!" Lisbeth called to you. "You just got in my way! I was just about to play some whack-a-mole!"

You threw the moleman off yourself with a push of your shield, your curved sword glowing as you cut down the monster with a Sword Skill. You turned to face her, hefting your sabre over your shoulder in what you hoped was a cool pose.

"Not to worry, I'm here to help! Just leave these gophers to me!" You assured her.

"They're not gophers, they're-" Lisbeth's words were cut off as you lurched forward, a moleman having taken a swipe at your back and a chunk out of your HP. You whirled around, your sabre glowing again with another Sword Skill.

"I don't need your help, I've got these things handled!" Lisbeth called as you tangled with the molemen. Sighing, she planted her hammer on the ground, leaning on it. A moleman spawned right behind her but she caught it in time to whirl around and ready her hammer... Only for the monster to go right past her and head straight for you. Odd, come to think of it, all the molemen were just fighting you. In fact, they were completely ignoring Lisbeth. Were you drawing their Hate?

"Hate" was essentially the SAO version of what most games would call aggro. Hate determined what player had enemy attack priority. Players could draw Hate to themselves by getting the most attacks in but a few Skills like Howl, Fighting Spirit, and Spiritual Light also drew Hate and were favored by tanks. In fact, judging by your heavy armor and heavy shield, Lisbeth assumed you must have been a tank build. But how were you drawing so much Hate so quickly? Actually, your HP was really starting to dip from all the hits you were taking. Sighing, Lisbeth rushed in and bashed one of the molemen in the back with a Sword Skill. You blocked another moleman with your shield and cut down another with your sabre. Lisbeth bashed another moleman in the head and stood up against your back.

"How are you drawing so much Hate? I haven't taken a single scratch yet," she asked, panting a bit. Not from exertion, though. It was hot in this cavern.

"Gilded Armor, Mirror Shield, Chaos Sabre. They draw Hate," you explained. You weren't the least bit out of breath, she noted. Weird.

"Equipment intended for getting Hate? You must be a tank," Lisbeth said.

You grinned a proud grin. "Damn good one, at that! Close your eyes for a sec."

"Why?" She asked.

"Just do it," you instructed.

Sighing, Lisbeth closed her eyes. You directed your shield at the moleman. "This'll only last a few seconds. When I give the signal, hit 'em with all you've got. Spiritual Light!"

A bright light shined from the surface of your shield. The molemen covered their eyes in pain and staggered for you in a literal blind fury. Lisbeth swung her hammer around, bashing three away with a Sword Skill, while you charged for two other moleman and cut them down with a Sword Skill of your own.

Only three molemen remained but once the blindness from Spiritual Light wore off, they paused. They stooding at attention like a wild animal that heard a predator approaching. Appropriately, they scattered once a pounding sound came from the tunnel ahead.

Walking forward was a flaming golem of dark red rock veined with flaming magma. A Firestone.

Lisbeth looked to you as you pressed a quick button, using Quick Change to swap from your black sabre to a metallic scimitar with a green hilt. "You're swapping weapons?" She asked.

You nodded. "Chaos Sabre draws a lot of Hate, but it doesn't have much attack power. Useless when I'm fighting alone or against a single enemy. I keep this beauty on hand when I need some firepower. It's called Windshear. Found it in a treasure chest. It has increased stagger and knockback."

"Uh-huh. Look, I can handle this thing on my own, so how about you just-"

"What Level are you?" You interrupted.

"Huh? I'm Level 61, why?" Lisbeth growled.

"No offense, but you're underleveled for the 69th Floor," you explained, flinching a little at her glare. "Molemen are one thing, but Firestones are a cut above them. Here's what we'll do. I'll draw his Hate with Howl and make him stagger with Windshear. You launch strong Sword Skills at him while I keep him busy. Together, we should be able to take it down. You in?"

Lisbeth sighed. "Fine, but I'm not paying you for this."

"Wouldn't dream of it," you said.

Taking a step forward and steadying yourself, you loosed a mighty roar. The Firestone visibly perked at the sound of the Howl Skill. With a burbling sound, it rushed froward towards you. You ran ahead to meet it, blocking its punch with your shield and hacking at it with your scimitar.

Lisbeth was about to rush in when she felt something odd. She felt... stronger? And wait... her HP was getting a buff?

"You have Howl, Spiritual Light, _and_ Fighting Spirit?" She exclaimed.

You grinned, parrying another punch from the Firestone with your One-Handed Curved Sword. "I'm a very good tank!"

Lisbeth growled. "Don't get cocky on me, buster!" She charged forward reeling the Zoringen Hammer back as it glowed with a powerful Sword Skill. Jumping and letting loose a cry, she landed her hammer hard on the Firestone's head just as it knocked you over with a punch.

The flaming golem burst into digitized fragments. A menu popped up showing how much EXP and Gold Lisbeth received. Oh, and it dropped a Flame Rock! Sweet! Lisbeth looked down at herself as she glowed golden, the XP from the Firestone having apparently been enough for her to Level to 62. She selected to put two points into Strength and one into Agility. Turning, she saw you pulling a red Potion out of your inventory and popping it open, giving it a chug.

"You know, you didn't have to do that. I had it handled, ya know," Lisbeth grumbled, crossing her arms over her breastplate.

After you chugged the Potion, you turned to give the blacksmith a grin. "Well... I'm a tank. It's my job to protect people."

The girl sighed. "Oh, great... are you one of those roleplayers? Can't you give it a rest?"

You pulled open your inventory again and retrieved a wrapped sandwich. "Hungry?"

Lisbeth was about to protest when her stomach growled. A blush came to her face. You chuckled and tossed her the sandwich, then retrieved one for yourself. Shrugging, she bit into it. Hmmm... Chicken, provolone, and lettuce? Not bad.

Seeing that you were still sitting, the blacksmith fell to the ground next to you, pulling her legs into a pretzel position. Opening her interface, she accessed her inventory and retrieved two flasks of water, tossing you one. You fumbled with it a bit, causing Lisbeth to suppress a giggle.

"Hey, was that a smile?" You asked, popping the cap on the flask. "I must be doing something right!"

Lisbeth pouted. "Well... I guess it was nice to have someone watching my back. I'm normally alone when I come to mine collection points. Either that or I'm arguing with other players for who has dibs on one."

You chugged the water, taking greedy gulps. After pulling the flask away from your mouth, you sighed in satisfaction. "Well, I don't have anything else to do today," you said. "I could keep mob off you while you mine."

The blacksmith narrowed her eyes at you. "Uh-huh. And what's in it for you?"

You looked away, blushing a little. "I just wanna protect people... It's why I chose a tank build."

Lisbeth's eyes softened. Hmm... Well, it would be nice to have some company. "Fine. But afterwards, I'm taking you to my shop so I can repair your stuff."

You perked at that, turning to look back at her. "You're a blacksmith?"

She smiled smugly. "The best in SAO."

"Oh, so that's why you were out here mining alone."

"Uh-huh! You may claim to be a very good tank... but I'm a very good blacksmith!" She stuck her chest out proudly.

"Do blacksmiths usually mine in just their armor and underwear?" You asked, pointing.

Lisbeth froze. After an awkward silence, realization dawned on her and she reeled her hand back.

Ow. Now you needed another Potion.


End file.
